tent accommodations

AnneTonisson

Although I am travelling with a friend we have booked singe accommodations . Did anyone staying solo have any concerns about the tent accommodations? I am not concerned about people but rather reptiles. Sorry a phobia

Sealord

You are not likely to see any reptiles near the tents. At the Masai Mara there will be hippos which are down a steep river bank, and possibly some flies, and there may be some monkeys around. There are more animals around the lodgings on the Z, B, and SA trip. We had a rogue elephant in the camp at Eagle Island which they eventually chased away with warning shots. That was after a Canadian family got pinned against the side of their tent. The learning curve ... let the elephant go first. (;-)

British

We have had the odd tiny reptile in African tents. I don’t like to see them but coped fine. On the other hand, when we were in our room at the Ngoronngoro crater, a mouse was in the room and it eventually ran over the bed and across my husband’s hand.

Sealord

Oh. I forgot. On our first trip to Arusha we had the largest most colorful insect in our room upon arrival. A fly swatter was out of the question, so I opened the back door and let it ‘stomp’ out. (;-)

KathrynH

The accommodation in Amboseli is interesting because the baboons [?] there are seeking access into the rooms to get at the sugar bags in the coffee set. Don't let your patio door be easily opened by these bandits. During our tour, somebody down the line did not hook/ lock their patio door. Monkey entered, snatched a lady's hairbrush, and dashed off -- presumably to groom fellow baboons.

I will also mention that during our Indian tour [when we were looking for tigers], the local monkeys/ baboons tried to open the sliding doors on our balcony. We had been warned about locking doors, but sure enough! In the middle of the night, we heard and then saw a monkey trying to gain access.

No problems with reptiles on either tour.

AlanS

KathrynH wrote:

The accommodation in Amboseli is interesting because the baboons [?] there are seeking access into the rooms to get at the sugar bags in the coffee set. Don't let your patio door be easily opened by these bandits. During our tour, somebody down the line did not hook/ lock their patio door. Monkey entered, snatched a lady's hairbrush, and dashed off -- presumably to groom fellow baboons.

I have heard that about the Four Seasons, Serengeti (a friend actually got an upgraded room because baboons tore up the one they were initially assigned before they arrived), but I didn't realize it was also a problem at Amboseli too, though I do remember seeing a lot of black-faced vervet monkeys hanging around there.

KathrynH

The Four Seasons accommodations at the Serengeti were glorious--even if the Masai warriors who escorted us to and from the boma for meals were a bit over the top with their spears and flashlights. (We never saw anything threatening in the inner sanctum, just a dik dik.) The terrace view of the watering hole had some adventures as an elephant ambled over to look at us as we were looking at him (through binoculars).

Serengeti was visited after Amboseli, so we were especially careful about closing the sliding doors on the terrace to protect against monkey guests. Similarly, we were careful to zip the tent closures at Masai Mara all the way to the bottom. Lots of baboons outside the walled-in compound and vervet monkeys all around the property. No snakes.